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On Being

On Being with Krista Tippett takes up the big questions with scientists and theologians, artists and teachers -- some you know and others you'll love to meet. Each week a new discovery about the immensity of our lives.

Easter will be warm inland but not like the record smashing scorcher in 1976

Do you recall the extreme heat that baked the Northeast during Easter weekend in 1976?

Records throughout the region between April 17 and April 19 were smashed, and many still remain, according to AccuWeather.

In Toms River, the thermometer soared to 90 degrees on this day, setting a record that still stands. Just to the north in New York City, Central Park reported a 96 degree reading on Easter.

“Exceptionally strong high pressure, comparable to those of many summer heat waves, set the stage for the abnormally early heat. Strong sunshine and vegetation still lacking leaves contributed to the extreme temperatures,” wrote AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews.

I was born in 1980, so I don’t recall.

But my parents do.

In fact, my mother, Marlene, experienced a “flashbulb memory” of Easter 1976, telling me that a pie she made didn’t fare too well.

“I prepared a grasshopper pie, which is made with crème de menthe, and it was literally dripping down my arm when I was walking into grandma’s house,” she said. “When I walked in, my dress had green spots.”

No doubt there are plenty of memories of that historic Easter weekend.

While many inland areas will flirt with 80 degrees on Sunday (upper 60s at the coast), we won’t come close to the conditions 41 years ago.